Don’t worry, your email will never be shared with anyone.

Since shipping rates here in Canada seem to be so high compared to the United States, I decided to ask some Canadian Internet marketers whether that was really the case. Here are some of the responses I received:

1. Postage in Canada is way more than what it costs in the US… and a lot slower too. According to the news,  the cost for a small packet (200g - 500g) is more than doubling in January. You can get a small business discount card that saves 10% and has a few other perks - just ask them next time you’re in.  For larger packages, FedEx or USP is usually cheaper than Canada Post.

2. Twice as much cost doing Canada Post.

3. Canada Post is almost double if not more than the US. My company ships hundreds of products weekly and the only way we can offset this shipping a bit is to offer quantity or multi-pack purchases. Although one product still gets sales even though the shipping cost is more than the actual product.

So it looks like the verdict is don’t use Canada Post unless you make sure you charge a fair bit for shipping. Or you could go over the border, have a day’s outing, and mail your parcel from there. Although with the state of our dollar lately, maybe not.

If anyone tries UPS, let us know what you think as far as price.

Another option for deciding your shipping charges is to use the shipping calculator when you list an item. This will usually mean that your buyer may have to pay a fair bit to have the item shipped to them, but if you have a quality item they will probably be willing to pay it. The calculator was only offered in the US at one point, but I believe it’s now available to Canadians as well. This video I found will explain the process to you. Let me know if you try it.

Using a Shipping Calculator

I’ve come to the conclusion that Canada Post is more expensive than the American mail system. I re-listed the maternity top we worked with at the last Momiji workshop and this time it sold.

the maternity top we sold

Since last Monday was a holiday, instead of ending the auction on the Sunday evening, I ended it on Monday night. The top was purchased by someone in Nova Scotia, at a price of 99 cents US plus $3 US for delivery.

One of the recent purchases made during a workshop was a similar size item of clothing that arrived at my home in a small bubble pak envelope. The cost of postage $1.90. Based on that shipment, I thought $3 for shipping within Canada was reasonable - charge much more and no one will want to buy the top.

The maternity top was light and easily fit inside a small bubble envelope. I took it to the post office and couldn’t believe it when the clerk charged me almost $9. Yes, I should have checked first and charged more. But the less you charge for shipping, the better your chances of selling your items. And I really didn’t think our postal charges would be so much more than the states.

Bottom line: I’ve learned my lesson. I’m going to stick with selling information products on eBay. Creating and shipping a cd isn’t hard to do and is much more cost effective. Any other products I sell will be limited to my local area so I don’t have to deal with Canada Post’s crazy prices.

My daughter Melanie seemed to think the background I had on this blog was boring, so she has changed it to this darker one. I like the way you can see what the posts say so clearly, but I find it hard to read any of the areas on the side because of the black background.

Please tell me what you think. Do you have trouble reading this blog the way it’s designed right now?

Update: I think I am sticking with this computer theme. Easy on the eyes and easy to find things.

For those of you who attended my last eBay workshop this past Saturday, we had some problems uploading our little Blue Mountain Duck to put it up for sale. I realized after that it was because I listed it on the new buyer identity that I created that day, but I hadn’t confirmed the account by email.

Bottom Line: None of that hard work we did on the title and description was saved, although I thought I kept it as a draft. I still have the photos and plan to list the item this Sunday night, since it will get more traffic then. Unless someone from the group still has the information you wrote for that cute little duck and wants to email it to me, I will have to create a new one. Sorry about that, but it was still a useful practice exercise. So keep your eye on this site and I will give you the auction link.

And speaking of past auctions, if anyone from the summer workshops wondered how our Simpsons’ toys fared on eBay - you naysayers were right. They didn’t sell. But at least we tried.

Bid: telling eBay’s system the maximum price you are prepared to pay for an item.

Dutch: an auction where more than one of an item is available.

Feedback: positive or negative comments left about other users on eBay.

Mint: in perfect condition.

Non-paying bidder: a bidder who wins an auction but does not then go on to buy the item.

PayPal: an electronic payment method accepted by most sellers.

Rare: once meant hard to find, but used so often on eBay, it’s now meaningless.

Reserve: the minimum price the seller will accept for the item.

Shill bid: a fake bid placed by a seller trying to drive up their auction’s price (not allowed).

Snail Mail: the post, which is obviously very slow compared to email.

Sniping: bidding at the last second to win the item before anyone else can outbid you.

When buying on eBay, you will come across a number of abbreviations, some of which are listed here. As a seller, using these abbreviations will sometimes be necessary, especially when you want to describe something in the title of your item, which has very limited space for text.

BIN: Buy it Now. A fixed price auction.

BNWT: Brand New With Tags. An item that has never been used and still has its original tags.

BW: Black and White. Used for films, photos etc.

EUR: Euro Currency.

FC: First Class. Type of postage.

GBP: Great British Pounds Currency.

HTF: Hard To Find. Not quite as misused as ‘rare’, but getting there.

NIB: New in Box. Never opened, still in its original box.

NR: No Reserve. An item where the seller has not set a reserve price.

OB: Original Box. An item that has its original box (but might have been opened).

PM: Priority Mail.

PP: Parcel Post.

SH: Shipping and Handling. The fees the buyer will pay for postage.

USD: United States Dollars Currency.

VGC: Very Good Condition. Not mint, but close.

For some great ideas of products that are in demand on eBay, check overlookedtreasure.  There are a number of very unusual items people are looking for, many that you probably have never thought about.

• If you list an item and sell it, you are under contract to ship to buyer.
• No ‘shill bidding’ (bidding on your own items).
• No closing auction sales outside eBay.
• No lying about the item you are selling (seller non-performance).
• No keyword spam to lure customers.
• No links to external sites, except on About Me page.
• If buyer doesn’t pay, contact them first, there may be a good reason. Then you can file an ‘Unpaid Item’ alert with eBay. After 10 days without payment, request a final value fee credit from eBay and a refund will be credited within 48 hours.